Dragon Moon
by Blue Eyes Shining Dragon
Summary: A collection of Zutara ficlets and drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

Continuity Info: Set shortly after the events of _The Western Air Temple_. Slight spoilers, but nothing major.

**Denim**

"What are you doing?"

Zuko was sitting (innocently enough, he thought) on the edge of one of the Temple's many fountains, his knife in one hand, a bundle of cloth in the other. He had been cutting the latter with the former for several minutes when Katara had appeared, seemingly from nowhere, to ask him the question in her best accusatory voice. "Preparing for Aang's next training excercise," he answered humbly, not ceasing his work or daring to look up at Katara's sure-to-be-frigid gaze.

"By slicing up our supplies?" she scoffed sarcastically. "Oh yes, that's going to help Aang learn Firebending just WONDERFULLY."

The Prince sighed. He'd known from the start Katara's would be the hardest trust to earn; she had offered it to him far easier once, and he'd spat in her face for her troubles. Given that, it was unsurprising that the Waterbender would act the way she had since his arrival at the Temple. "Unsurprising," however, did not equal "less frustrating". Everywhere Zuko went, everything Zuko did, she was there, watching him like a Sabretoothed Moose Lion, ready with a snappy taunt or a rude insult or a thinly-veiled threat (with many of her words to him falling into the overlap between all three). For a while, he'd been content to let her simply do as she pleased; she had every right to feel the way she did, and the Prince knew he was more than worthy of her scorn. Now, however...on this day, in this moment, Zuko just wanted her to stop. He wanted her to believe that this time, when he'd said, "I have changed", he'd meant it.

That meant it was time to take action. With one last cut, Zuko tore a long, thick length of the cloth away from the larger part. He sheathed his knife, putting it down next to where he sat, and took that length of cloth in his hands. The rest of it was left on Zuko's other side. The Prince's eyes finally lifted upwards, meeting Katara's gaze (which, as expected, was quite cold) with a look of resolve. "Actually, it's an ancient Fire Nation tradition," Zuko answered her, voice matching the look on his face, "Firebending can be very effective at close range if you know how to use it, so we often train to learn how we can Bend best when the enemy is right in front of us."

Katara's fists clenched. Was he talking about her?

"We do that," Zuko continued, "by taking a piece of rope, leather, or cloth," and at that last word his voice raised up for a moment, "and using it to tie one of our wrists to the wrist of a partner, forcing us to stay close to each other. We then spar until the material holding the two wrists together breaks."  


The Prince then did just that, taking one end of the cloth and wrapping it tightly around his wrist, leaving its remainder to hang limply. For a minute, the two of them simply stood there in silence. Katara simply continued to stare at him, trying to read his gaze to see if he was being honest or not. Zuko was hardly one for pranks, she knew, but he was Fire Nation; deceit seemed to run in their blood, and this "ancient Fire Nation tradition" was a perfect way to ensure Aang could not run away should things get dangerous. "Show me." she said challengingly.

Zuko's good eye widened. He'd thought HE would have to be the one to challenge HER; instead, she'd taken the initiative. "You're a Waterbender," he said dismissively, knowing he had to make this convincing, "It wouldn't work."

"I'll determine THAT for myself," Katara retorted. "Now, are you gonna show me this little excercise, or are you just scared a Waterbender can beat you at your own game?"

Sighing dramatically, the Prince held the free end of the cloth up to her. "Fine," he said. "We'll give it a shot."

With a solemn look, Katara took the cloth and wrapped it around her wrist. Once the knot was tied, her hand and Zuko's were only inches apart, tightly held together. For a brief moment, their palms crossed. It was a stranger thing than either one had anticipated, being linked together like this. The Prince gave a soft tug to see how tight the cloth was wrapped; it held. "Ready?" he asked.

"Always."

"Then let's begin..."

Zuko's free arm immediately sliced up at her, flames spiralling around its length. Katara ducked, uncorking her flask and letting its water flow out onto her palm. Trying to Waterbend onehanded was tricky, but nothing the girl could not handle. Soon, her forearm was coated in it, a tendril like the ones she'd used against Azula in Ba Sing Se. Whipping it at Zuko's legs, she felt herself lift a bit with him as he jumped out of the way. "Still think Waterbending doesn't work for this?" she asked, taking another crack at him.

The Prince sidestepped this time, pulling back to let a fireball fly from his hand. Katara kept her body out of the way, but was unable to move her arm in time: the fireball cut through her tendril, causing the water that formed it to slide off her hand and fall to the ground. Thrusting her hand upward, Katara caused the water to spout upwards before it seeped into the stone floor. That took Zuko by surprise, and the swift geyser slammed straight into his face. Unbalanced, he stumbled backwards a bit, pulling Katara by arm. She leapt up to try and captialize on his disorientation, but that proved a mistake: moving forward caused Zuko to lose his balance completely, and soon the both of them fell to the ground, Waterbender on top of Prince.  


After the shock of the moment had passed, Katara realized exactly what kind of position she was in, and hastily slid off him. She saw that the impact of the fall had severed the cloth; according to Zuko's "tradition", that meant their spar was over. Zuko realized that as well, sitting up and looking over at her. "Convinced?" he asked softly.

She slid the cloth off her wrist. "That this is a real training excercise, yes."

The Prince sighed, for real this time. He knew it would take more than a simple spar to get her to trust him, but he'd hoped they could have made a little more progress. Still, it was a start. He rose to his feet and retrieved his knife and cloth. "Good. Then you won't mind if I use this excercise with Aang." he said, and the Waterbender could sense a distinct sense of dissappointment in his voice, though he was clearly trying to hide it.

With that, Zuko walked off silently. Somehow, he'd get her to come around.

Katara, for her part, simply sat where she was, cloth still on her wrist. She tried not to think too long about where she and Zuko had both been in relation to the other seconds before, but the more she tried not to, the more her mind came back to it. Watching Zuko walk away, her hand stroked the cloth softly.

**End**


	2. Electric

Continuity Info: Set shortly after the events of _The Western Air Temple_ and _Denim_. Slight spoilers, but nothing major.

**Electric**

It was raining outside, the first Thunderstorm since the group had come to the Temple. Aang was more than a touch nervous to Bend anything but Air indoors for fear of damaging anything, and so, for the first time in what felt like ages, there were no training lessons for the young Avatar. That left his teachers with surprisingly little to do, though as far as Toph was concerned, that was just fine: she was rather enjoying her day off doing one of her favorite things: nothing.

As for Katara, she found herself running about the Main Hall of the Temple, where just about everyone had gathered, taking care of this and that. She'd comfort The Duke whenever the thunder and lightning frightened him, she'd bend the rain away from Haru as best she could as he and Toph helped make barriers to keep the storm outside where it belonged, and she'd help Sokka keep their firepit going to ensure they'd have a good, warm dinner that night. It was while doing that last task that she realized someone was missing. "We could really use Jerkbender's help to keep this flame up," Sokka commented as he poked the firepit with his sword.

"Figures he wouldn't lend a hand..." Katara grumbled; typical Prince Zuko, passing off his chores to others...

"Actually, come to think of it, I haven't seen him at all since the storm started..." Sokka mused aloud.

THAT got Katara's attention. "You're sure?" she asked, wondering why she really ought to care, but reminding herself that even Zuko was flesh and blood, and as much as she disliked him, she really was not interested in seeing him burned to death by a lightning bolt or die of cold in the rain; besides, that little training excercise he'd shown her yesterday had proven he wasn't ALL bad...

When Sokka nodded, his sister immediately took action. After convincing Toph and Haru to briefly take down one of their hard-built walls and Aang that she would be right back and perfectly safe, she ran out into the storming outdoors, searching for the Prince. The irony of risking her life for Zuko did not escape her, especially not after how she'd treated him during their time at the Temple, but in the end, he was still a person...and Katara would never turn her back on people who needed her. Right now, in the midst of a raging storm made all the worse by the height of the mountains on which they currently made their home, she knew Zuko needed _someone_, and as the Waterbender often did in situations like this, she chose to make herself that someone.

Before too long, Katara spotted him; to her surprise, he was neither trapped nor hurt. In fact, he stood 

at the very edge of the Temple's outer floor, staring up into the black-and-grey sky as if waiting for something. She prepared to call his name when it happened. A lightning bolt tore through the air, crashing down towards Zuko. Katara prepared to scream, prepared herself to witness a horrid gruesome death, but instead she saw something quite different. She watched as Zuko, with a speed she'd never seen before, thrust his left hand directly into the electricity. She watched as the bolt _dissappeared_ into his palm, the air around him whirling around and pushing him forcefully back, though he never wavered in his stance. She watched as the lightning came roaring back out through the pointed fingers of his right hand as he directed it back to the sky. She watched as he sank to his knees, panting wildly.

For a moment, Katara could not move, could barely digest what she'd just witnessed; the only time she had ever seen something else quite like it was when Azula had torn Aang down in the caves of Ba Sing Se. Yet THAT was an image of fear and terror. THIS...this was something else entirely. In its way, it was almost...beautiful. Soon enough, however, the Waterbender remembered why she was standing in the middle of the pouring rain rather than inside in the company of friends and warmth, and ran over to the still-kneeling Prince. "What are you DOING?" she asked him angrily, because that seemed to be her default setting whenever she was around him, "Are you out of your MIND? You could've gotten yourself KILLED!"

Zuko was panting too heavily to respond, and Katara noticed he was positively _drenched_; it dawned on her that if Sokka hadn't seen him since the Storm started, that meant he'd had to have been here more or less that whole time. Had he just been Bending lightning, over and over and OVER again all the while? Helping the scarred Firebender to his feet, she led him slowly to one of the nearby open hallways; the Main Hall was a bit too far for him to make in his current condition, and while it was not fully dry, the open hall would give them shelter enough for the moment. "...sorry..." Zuko finally whispered raspily as they took a seat beneath the stone roof, voice all but impossible to hear over the din of the storm. "...didn't mean...to make you worry..."

It was truly bizarre to hear the Prince apologizing to her like that. Sighing, she turned to face him. "It's alriYOW!!"

As soon as their faces had come close, a light static discharge had passed between their lips. Katara put both hands to her mouth, blushing like mad. Zuko too immediately turned away from her, embarassed and suddenly feeling like a shy little boy. Neither one spoke again, or even faced the other, until they had returned to the Main Hall after a good, long rest.

Once they had, Zuko did his part to help with the fire. Katara returned to helping The Duke stay calm. And both attempted to ignore the fact that that little shock had felt quite...

Good.

**End**


	3. Smug

Continuity Info: Set shortly after the events of _The Western Air Temple_, _Denim_, and _Electric_. Slight spoilers, but nothing major.

**Smug**

Aang's Firebending lessons for the day had been cancelled, due to the fact that Zuko had come down with a rather nasty cold. It seemed his time out in middle of the previous day's storm had taken its toll, and so the Prince stayed in bed, coughing often, sneezing even moreso, and finding himself practically waited on hand and foot by the group. Each one took their turn attending to him, making sure he was OK, giving him food and drink to help with his cold.

Except, of course, for Katara.

"Everyone else took their turn, sis," Sokka told her sternly after his own phase as Zuko-sitter. "I know you've got your problems with him, but suck it up and just...I don't know, Waterbend him some Chicken Soup or something."

Katara sighed. She'd staved it off as long as she could, but the girl knew Sokka was not going to let her walk away from this; just as he had with all the others, Zuko had managed to convince the Water Tribe warrior of his worth through a shared appreciation of swords, strategy, and of course, meat. Aang seemed to trust the Prince's skills as a teacher completely, Toph found him highly amusing, and there were times she'd seen The Duke treat Zuko like the Big Brother he'd never had but always wanted. When had it happened? When had that arrogant little Firebender wormed his way into the heart of her family? Why was she the only one who seemed to have doubts about him? It was not simply a matter of whether Zuko deserved it, either; she had to wonder what it was about _her_ that made it so hard to accept him. "Alright, alright...I'll do it." she conceded to Sokka. "But I won't like it."

"Attagirl." Sokka said with a smile. "Now get in there and Soup Bend like you've never Soup Bended before!"

Katara shot him a look that would have melted stone before walking (slowly; she was going to hold off on this as long as she could) toward Zuko's room. "Kataraaaa..." Sokka said sternly, a good enough expert in Sisterology to know she was trying to stall.

With another angrier sigh, she picked up the pace and before long had finally entered the room. "I'm here, _Your Majesty_..." she said bitingly as soon as she stepped inside.

"Thanks..." Zuko said, voice even hoarser than usual, "You...you really don't have to do this, though. I'm...I'm fine..."  


He sneezed at the end of his sentence, then coughed afterwards. Groaning in frustration, he pulled himself under the covers of his bed. "Ugh...OK, maybe I'm NOT fine...", cough cough, "but...still...you don't have to do this."

Katara scoffed. "Oh please," she grumbled, Bending water out of her flask onto a nearby cloth. "You can drop the Humble act, Mr. Prince of the Fire Nation; this is _exactly_ what you want. People waiting hand and foot on you...that's your lifestyle of choice!"

From beneath the bed cover, Zuko sneezed again, then sighed his frustration. "Is that really what you think of me?" he asked. "That I'm this smug, spoiled brat who just wants to get his way?"

"No," Katara replied, taking the now-damp rag in her hand, "I think you're a _Prince_. Same thing, basically."

To the Waterbender's surprise, Zuko laughed a bit. Gently taking the covers off, he looked up at her. She saw his face was pretty red, his good eye baggy; the fever really WAS doing a number on him. "What's so funny?" she asked, putting the wet rag on his forehead (a motion he made no objection to).

The Prince did not answer. He was too busy taking in the nice, soothing feel of cool cloth upon his skin. The silence gave Katara a chance to think of an answer herself, and the only one that came to mind was that he'd found what she said humorous. He'd appreciated the joke. With a start, she realized she'd left her hand upon the cloth...upon his face. Withdrawing it quickly, she let him hold the rag up. "So..." she said quietly, realizing the silence was giving her far too much room to think about...things. Distracting Things.

"So." Zuko mimicked.

"I'll...I'll be going now." she said, standing up.

"So soon?" he asked softly.

The Waterbender looked at him strangely. "Why do you care?"

He shrugged. "The others stayed longer." he replied coolly.

Katara "hmph"ed. "Well, I'm not like 'the others', I guess." she said, and again Zuko chuckled.

"Thanks for the help, Katara." Zuko said softly, lying down again.

As Katara prepared to leave, she gave one last sigh, this time one of resignment. "You..." she started, 

faltering a bit but ultimately finding the strength to finish.

"You're welcome."

**End**


	4. Manipulative

Continuity Info: Set shortly after the events of _The Western Airtemple, Denim, Electric_ and _Smug_. Minor spoilers, but nothing too big.

**Manipulative**

There were flames, but no heat. The sky was black and empty, as if there were no sky at all. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation stood in the center of those flames, that darkness, feeling naked somehow despite being dressed in the uniform he'd grown all too accustomed to wearing during his three years at sea. He knew what was happening, even if he did not, in fact, know at all, and remained still and calm. From out of the endless black nothing, a shape began to emerge. A serpent of Blue...

"Poor, confused little ZuZu...no matter where you go or what you do, it always ends in failure..."

It was a familiar, reviled voice that taunted him from all around, echoing across eternity as the Blue Serpent drew closer. No...not a serpent. A Dragon. A Blue _Dragon_. The Beast landed before the young Prince, no longer garbed in his Fire Nation uniform but instead the green and brown rags he'd worn while on the run in the Earth Kingdom. "No more disguises. If you wish to speak, show me your TRUE face..." he spoke with conviction.

The Dragon grinned, showing its many razor teeth, before openining its mouth as if to roar. Yet no sound came out. Instead, both of its jaws began to pull backwards, further and further...well past the point they should have been able to keep moving. Soon, the beast's jaws peeled back across its body, taking the rest of the Dragon's form with them. Zuko stared in terrified awe, feeling fear for the first time in this strange place as he saw the Dragon tear itself apart...like a bannana, only far more gruesome. "Don't look so sad, ZuZu..." that accursed voice spoke again as the Dragon's torn-up, empty skin fluttered away like a costume caught in the wind. "You wanted to see my true face...now you can."

Where once the Dragon had been, there now stood Princess Azula. She held that same smile on her face that Zuko always saw her with...a grin that let everyone around her know SHE was in control. "What do you want?" Zuko demanded, trying not to let his voice quiver.

"The issue, little Prince," Azula replied, a dark and disturbing echo to her voice, "is what YOU want. Namely, something you can't have..."

Now dressed in the robes he'd worn in Ba Sing Se, the Prince took a step away from his sister. "What are you talking about?" he asked softly, feeling as if he knew the answer already...

Azula smirked, whirling her hands in small circles. The fire around them obeyed her motions, a portion of its blazing form flowing into her hands. Yet once it circled about her palm, the fire turned 

into...water? "I'm talking about the one who'll destroy you if you get too close," she replied coolly. "I'm talking about the one who challenged you in the North Pole...offered to heal your face in Ba Sing Se...the one who, even now, watches over you at the Western Air Temple."

"Katara..." Zuko whispered, finding himself looking down at the ground; he noticed his clothing had changed again into the hooded cloak he'd used to sneak around the Fire Nation at night, but gave it little attention.

With a cruel, all-too-satisfied laugh, Azula whipped the water at Zuko's feet, causing him to jump back. "You'll try to deny it of course. You'll pretend you still care about Mai..."

"I DO care about her!" Zuko shouted angrily.

Azula's smile, already wide, seemed to grow impossibly wider. "Ah...but do you LOVE her?"

"I..."

"No lies here, ZuZu. Do you really and truly LOVE Mai?"

"I...I don't know. I care about her, but...I don't know."

Another laugh, another victory for the Prince's sister. "And that confusion has left your eyes wandering..." she said. "Now they've settled on the Waterbender..."

Zuko looked back up at her, rage written all over his face. Bending the fire around them into his OWN hands, he stomped toward her in the red-and-brown shirt he'd been wearing at the Air Temple. "Don't talk about her like that!" he said. "Like she's an object...a prize!"

Azula simply continued to smile. Zuko realized he'd given her exactly what she'd wanted, backing away and letting the fire in his hands dissipate. "Oh, ZuZu..." Azula sighed condescendingly. "You want her...but you know you can't have her..."

A familiar tattoo of a blue arrow appeared on Azula's forehead. "And she won't want you. Not when she has far better options..."

Zuko scowled. "You don't know anything ABOUT her..." he hissed lowly.

"I know what YOU know about her," she retorted gracefully. "That's more than enough."

The Prince tried to answer her, tried to defend himself...but found no words with which to either. Seeing his defeat, Azula bowed with mocking grace. "My work here is done," she said smugly. "It's just like I said, ZuZu...no matter what you do, it always ends in failure..."  


Her teeth grew sharp, her eyes slitted, and within seconds she was the Dragon again. She swooped at Zuko, mouth open, ready to eat him alive...

And then the Prince awoke.

Sweating profusely, he coughed as his throat attempted to scream, only for pain to stop it. He was still sick...it was night time, hard to see. Zuko let a small flame appear in his hand to give him a little illumination, and saw a damp rag upon his bed. He lifted it to his forehead, panting quietly. That was when he saw something to the side...someONE. Looking over, he let the fire show him.

"Katara...?" he whispered.

She was there at his bedside, arms folded in front of her, resting. Zuko could feel Azula's words ringing in the back of his head. Snuffing the flame out, he lay back and tried not to let them worry him. "It was just a dream...it was just a dream..." he told himself quietly.

He only wished he could believe that.****

**End**


	5. Mythology

Continuity Info: Set shortly after the events of _The Western Air Temple, Denim, Electric, Smug,_ and _Manipulative_. Minor spoilers, but nothing too big.

**Mythology**

The many murals of the Western Air Temple were wonderful to admire. Katara had made sure to take time out of each day she'd spent there to look them over. Today, she found herself at a large image of what appared to be the Painted Lady and another figure she could not recognize: his body was black as night, but his face was blue, with fin-like ears of white.

It was hardly a surprise to see the legends of other cultures celebrated here; from what Aang had told her, the Air Nomads were travellers who honored the world around them. What kept the young Waterbender fixed to the spot so strongly, then, was the image itself. Having played the part of the Painted Lady herself, Katara felt a strong degree of connection with her, and felt a need to determine the identity of the other Spirit in the image.

That, and it kept her away from Zuko.

Normally, of course, she would want to stay away from the Prince because she loathed him with great intensity. Today, however...indeed, last night...had been different. When his fever hadn't calmed for the whole day, she'd gone back when the others, including Zuko himself, were asleep to make sure he would be alright. Katara did not quite understand _why_ she'd done that, and that terrified her. "Hey! I know those two!"

The Waterbender turned with a start as Aang, burn marks all over his clothes (a sure sign he'd been practicing his Fire Bending with Zuko not too long ago), approached the mural with an excited gleam in his eyes. "You know BOTH of these characters, Aang?" Katara asked, eager to finally have her answer.

"Yup. That's you 'n' Zuko!" the young Avatar replied cheerfully.

Katara's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "You're kidding, right?" she asked/begged.

"Nope!" Aang said, seemingly oblvious to Katara's reaction. "Zuko dressed up as the Blue Spirit, and you dressed up as the Painted Lady!"

Well, so much for using the mural to keep her distance from Zuko. Katara sighed. "You OK, Katara?" Aang asked softly.

"OH! I...I'm fine, Aang, really. Just...thinking." she answered as calmly as she could.  


"About...?"

Katara turned to the mural, her hand slowly drifting along the Painted Lady's body. "A lot of things..." she whispered, more to herself than Aang.

The Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady...were they enemies? Friends? Or...something more? Surely it had no baring on anything in the _present_...did it? No, no, of course not, but...it did make her think. About how Zuko had been her first real challenge as a Bender...how she had, for one brief moment in Ba Sing Se, seen in him something kindred...how no matter how much she tried to hate him, she kept finding herself coming to his aid at the Temple. It was strange, looking back at it...the ways in which she and Zuko just kept colliding with each other. "Katara...?" Aang asked tentatively after a long moment of silence.

Snapping out of her train of thought, the Waterbender let her hand return to her side. "Sorry, Aang, got a little...distracted."

"It's OK." he said sincerely. "Anyway, I wanted to find you 'cuz we found an old Airball field, and we think it's still good to play on. Wanna join us?"

"Sure, Aang. I'd love to." Katara replied with a bright smile.

"Great! C'mon, let's go!"

Aang ran off, with Katara walking in tow. She took one last look at that mural...the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit...her and Zuko...then turned her gaze back to Aang. The Avatar. The boy who'd given her her first real kiss. She put the mural and all the thoughts it brought with it out of mind.

**End**


	6. Stare

Continuity Info: Set shortly after the events of _The Western Air Temple, Denim, Electric, Smug, Manipulative,_ and _Mythology_. Slight spoilers, but nothing huge.

**Stare**

Silence.

That was all Zuko heard now whenever he and Katara were in each other's presence. Only three days ago, that fact would have felt like a miracle; it would have meant she had forgiven him, at least to the point where she was willing to stop tease-threatening him. Now, however, it felt as if he had somehow done something to make it _worse_. Katara would not even look him in the eye any more; on occassion, he would catch her staring at him, but as soon as she saw he had noticed, the Waterbender's attentions turned elsewhere, and he was cut off from her again. It was beginning to worry the Prince...

Katara could only guess as to how Zuko felt about her decision. She was sure he was confused, and that was for the best. He could not be allowed to know the way her feelings had begun to develop for him. Ever. It was wrong, it was unfair to Aang, it was a disaster waiting to happen. Waterbenders did not start feeling affection for Firebenders, period. So she chose to leave him alone. On occassion, she would slip, find herself staring at him and wondering...wondering what COULD happen...but such moments were few and far between, and the mere glimpse of the Prince's golden eyes was enough to remind her to resume her vigil.

So the two spent most of the day in relative isolation from each other. The others noticed it, but no one dared to guess what the cause of it was. Even Toph felt it best to leave well enough alone, though for different reasons than her peers. Sparky and Sugar Queen would have to kiss and make up on their own time; she was not about to waste hers helping them figure out the obvious. As for Aang he wanted very much to help, but something held him back, but he did not know what.

As for Zuko, he found himself trying to figure out a solution for himself. Every time he found himself preparing to strike up a conversation with Katara, _force_ her to explain herself, he found himself unable to speak. Somehow, he could not bring himself to start talking if she did not talk to him first. It was silly and stupid and cowardly, he knew, but hard as he tried, he just could not do it. Instead, the Firebender would sit down and think. He would think about the fact that he had been trying just as hard to earn Katara's forgiveness as he had to teach Aang Firebending. He would think about how her silence was driving him crazy, even though by rights he should have just shrugged it off and moved on. He would think about his dream, his fever...how the last time he'd experienced something like that, it had been in Ba Sing Se shortly after he had returned from Lake Laogai. He would think about how he was changing...because of Katara. Then, he'd feel his courage rising again, and would stand up to try again. THEN, he would think of Azula's words from his nightmare. _"You want what you can't _

_have...she'll destroy you if you get too close...why would she even want you..."_

He would sit down again.

Night time fell upon the Temple. Katara helped tuck The Duke into bed, smiling at the young boy's face as he drifted to sleep. Walking away from his room, the Waterbender wished she felt that content. She had managed to make good on her self-made promise to distance herself from Zuko, to stay away from him the whole day...now she just had to keep doing that for the rest of their lives, and everything would be _fine_. That got a good, long sigh out of her. Staring out into the sky, all but blank save for the half-moon, Katara sat upon the edge of the Temple floor, dangling her feet over the open air below. This was beyond unfair...Aang loved her. Aang had kissed her. Wasn't she obligated to love him back? Wasn't that how this worked? Yet...she cared about Aang, deeply. She would gladly give her life to protect his. However...she did not love the young Avatar, not the way he loved her. Katara refused, however, to break his heart by letting herself fall in love with Zuko. Only...THAT wasn't quite the point, either. She WAS trying to protect Aang, certainly, but...Zuko had a girlfriend back him, this "Mai" he'd told them about (she would always be "Creepy Girl With Needles" to Katara...), and he had betrayed her before. Just like Jet.

Katara was not just trying to protect Aang. She was trying to protect _herself_ too.

That was when she realized the area around her had gotten brighter than before. Turning around, she saw Zuko standing behind her, a flame cupped in his hand. The Prince had a look of determination upon his face, and Katara found she could not look away. Not this time. She stood, still facing him, waiting for whatever would happen next to happen. She would stop him if it went too far, she swore to herself over and over and over again. Zuko took a step toward her, but only just. Looking at her, holding her gaze as best he could, he finally spoke.

"Katara, please...just...talk to me."

**End**


	7. Pinch

Continuity Info: Set shortly after the events of _The Western Air Temple, Denim, Electric, Smug, Manipulative, Mythology,_ and _Stare_. Slight spoilers, but nothing major.

**Pinch**

"So. What do we do now?"

It was Katara's question, but it might as well have been Zuko's; certainly, it was on his mind too. Hidden in one of the Temple's old meeting rooms, the pair had both spoken their minds frankly in regards to each other. They had voiced their _doubts_ about those feelings, as well. "I don't really know..." Zuko answered finally, resting his head against his hands. "At least it's all out in the open now, right?"

"Right..." the Waterbender sighed, less than convinced.

She sat down upon the ground, folding her legs one on top of the other. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she looked upwards and thought it allllllllll over: She felt something for Zuko, Zuko felt something for her, and neither one was confident enough in themselves or those feelings to say one way or the other if they would ever act on them. "Are you...glad...to know how I feel?" she asked softly.

Zuko rose slowly from where he was, walking over to her and sitting down next to the Waterbender. "Depends; are you glad to know how I feel?"

"I asked first..." she replied, looking over at him with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I'm a Prince; therefore, you do what I say."

"You're a Prince in the Fire Nation, maybe, but here you're just one of Aang's teachers, like me. So answer my question, and I'll answer yours."

Zuko grinned. "Feisty..." he chuckled.

Katara gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "Just 'Yes or No', Sparky." she laughed.

"First off," Zuko said, "only Toph gets to call me 'Sparky'. Second...the answer's yes."

He found himself looking at the ceiling just as Katara had been earlier. "I'm glad I know how you feel because it means I'm not crazy. It means whatever it is that made me...realize these things about you..., you saw it, _felt_ it, too."

"I don't really know when it happened, honestly..." Katara said softly. "I really did hate you when you 

first came here...but I started to realize that was only because I'd felt so _betrayed_ by what you did in Ba Sing Se."

Zuko visibly winced as he recalled the incident. They both knew he would regret it the rest of his life. "The thing is..." Katara continued, "you can't feel betrayed by someone you don't care about."

She turned to face the Prince, whose gaze remained fixated upon the ground. "Did you really care about me?" he asked quietly. "Even back then?"

"Yes. I mean, not in the same way I do now, of course, but...when I heard the way you spoke about your Mother...yes."

"You offered to heal me just because of that..." Zuko said, at last looking her in the eyes again. "You offered to be my friend because of a single piece of common ground between us. Even after all I'd done, you were willing to forgive me."

His eyes seemed to shimmer with sincerity as Katara looked at them. "I'm sorry, Katara..." he said. "I'm sorry for turning you away like I did."

She leaned in close. "It's OK..." she whispered. "I forgive you."

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, and he did the same for her. They still had no idea where things would go from there. They still did not know if they could ever be together. Yet they'd come this far already...who knew what else they could accomplish?

**End**


	8. The Answer

Continuity Info: Set toward the end of _Sozin's Comet_. Major spoilers if you haven't seen that movie already, so reader beware.

**The Answer**

Katara waited patiently in the iron hall, arms folded, eyes closed in thought. She should have felt awkward or afraid, a Water Tribe girl in the heart of a Fire Nation prison, but she did not. The Fire Nation no longer scared Katara. Those ghosts had been faced down and, ultimately, defeated. That was why she was here, in fact. The one who had helped her conquer that shadow had a shadow of his own to conquer, and he had asked her to be there with him. She had accepted. The memory of that morning was still fresh in her thoughts...

_The first thing she noticed as Zuko approached her was the slight peek of white under his shirt. A reminder of the sacrifice he had been wiling to make for her...she smiled. "All patched up, I see." Katara said as she looked over the wonderful green robes she had received, a gift from the now-liberated people of the Earth Kingdom._

"Thanks to you." was the Fire Bender's reply. "Katara...I have a favor to ask of you."

She looked up at him, fully ready for whatever he might ask. "And that is?"

His eyes trembled, searching for the right words to make the right phrases to ask the right question. "After the coronation...I'm going to visit my Father."

That caught Katara's attention immediately. Zuko paused, as if himself shocked by the idea. "I need...I need to know where my Mother is."

"I thought your Mother was...dead..." the Water Bender tried her best not to sound too awkward, but felt so anyway.

"I know, but...on the Day of Black Sun, he told me...she was still alive."

There was silence after that. It was hard...impossible...for Katara to hear those words and not think of her own mother...of how much she would give to have her back. To her own surprise, and Zuko's, she smiled. "That's wonderful..." she said sincerely. "I can't imagine how happy you must feel."

The boy smiled at her earnest response, but turned serious again quickly. "That's why...why I came to you." he said softly. "No one else know I'm planning this, not even Mai...I don't want them to worry. But...I want someone with me, someone I know can understand what this means to me..."  


_  
He looked her straight in the eyes. "That's why...I want you to come with me, Katara. I know I can trust you."_

Katara did not know quite how to feel. Flattery was what she ultimately settled on, but something else rested beneath it. Regardless, she did not hesitate to respond, "Of course, Zuko."  
  
The creak of steel came returned the Water Bender to the present, and Katara turned to see the opening door. "Well?" she asked softly. "What did he say?"

Zuko's eyes remained on the floor, and for a moment he did not answer. Katara stepped toward him. "...Zuko?"

"He lied."

The words were not spoken so much as coughed, rough and unwanted. Even garbed in the royal robes of the Fire Lord (and Katara had to remind herself THAT was his title now more often than she cared to admit), Zuko seemed remarkably small just then. With a deep, strong breath, the scarred boy lifted his head at last. His eyes were glassy and distant, weighted with sorrow. "On the Day of Black Sun...my father lied."

Katara's heart froze. "You mean..."

"He said he was desperate." Zuko explained. "Said he couldn't afford to have me join the Avatar, so he said the only thing he could think of that might make me stay."

That was what Katara had feared. Looking into the Fire Bender's eyes, she realized this was why he had wanted her: because deep down, he had known all along how real this outcome was, how possible it was that his mother was truly gone. He knew she would understand what it meant to have his mother offered back to him, only to be taken away again. "I am so, so sorry, Zuko." she whispered, offering her open arms to the Fire Lord without another thought.

He took that offer, and did not even notice when he finally began crying. They held each other like that for as long as they both needed, both two little children on the day of their mother's death all over again.

**END**


	9. One More Moment

**NOTE: Set post-series, so in case you haven't watched the Finale yet, there be SPOILERS up ahead. BIG HONKING SPOILERS.**

The only light in the room were the two candles of Incense burning on either side of it.

The only sound was Katara's slow, rhythmic breathing.

But inside, in her mind...it was a storm. Red sky, the Fire Nation's Royal Courtyard, a crack of Thunder and a scream of pain.

_"What's wrong, Azula?" Zuko asked definatly as Katara watched from afar; she could see in his eyes, hear in his voice, just how much it truly meant to him to finally have the strength to face his sister like this. "No lightning today? Or are you scared I'll redirect it?"_

This was the part Iroh had warned her about. This was the challenge she had to overcome. To do what she wanted...what she NEEDED...to do, the Water Bender's thoughts could not be clouded or anguished. They had to be focused. They could not hang on to painful memories or feelings of regret, no matter how deep seated they had become. Katara continued her breathing, kept her eyes shut, and tried to let the smell of the candles soothe her.

_Too late, Katara realized that it was not Zuko Azula was aiming at...but her. There was no time to dodge, no time to THINK...only a snake of crackling blue streaking from Azula's fingers straight through the air toward her. And then there was Zuko standing between them. "NO!"_

The Water Bender could only watch as Zuko's body fell to the ground, shirt burned away and a crimson scar on his stomach, twitching in sheer agony.

It wasn't working. No matter how much she tried to relax...tried to push it to the background of her mind...that day, that moment, lodged itself firmly before Katara's mental eye and refused to budge. Yet she would not give up. She would not stop trying. No matter how hard, she would find a way to calm the storm in her thoughts. She had to.

_Azula was now safely chained to a nearby sewer grate, futilely struggling like a wild beast to escape. Katara, however, paid little heed to the Princess' rage. There was no time to, not with Zuko's life on the line. Whipping out the water from her flask, she quickly made her way to his side. With a chill down her spine, she realized the Fire Prince was not squriming in pain any longer. The fight with Azula to reach him...had it gone on too long?_

Tears slowly brimmed in Katara's eyes. No matter how hard she tried to forget, tried to will her thoughts in another direction, that terrible moment played out again for her to watch...

_The water glowed brightly upon Katara's hands as she ran them across Zuko's body. He did not budge. "Come on, Zuko..." she whispered to him. "You're stronger than this..."_

She held her hands over his scar for several seconds. Then a minute. Then two. "Come ON, Zuko!" she shouted at him, feeling herself start to tremble all over. "Don't tell me...don't tell me you'd throw your life away for some worthless Water Tribe PEASANT!"

The Prince's eyes did not open. Katara felt no pulse beating within his chest. The water's glow dimmed. And from afar, she heard Azula's shrill, wild laughter echoing across the courtyard.

As they had on that fateful day-a day it was all but impossible to believe had been two weeks ago now-tears ran freely down Katara's face. He had given his life to protect hers, and she'd failed him...she'd let him die, just like she'd let Jet die. Everyone had mourned the Prince's passing...even Mai, who Katara had never seen show any emotion of any kind at all, had broken down at his funeral. Fire Lord Iroh, despite his proud victory in Ba Sing Se, had wept openly and spoken admirably of his beloved nephew. And Katara...it had felt like there was a knife stuck in her heart. "It's my fault!" she had tearfully confessed to Sokka hours after Zuko's body had been cremated. "I should've been paying more attention...I should've gotten to him sooner!"

As the days passed, the others had begun to make peace with Zuko's passing. Iroh and Mai still held the pain of his loss in their eyes, of course, and Katara saw it clear as day every time she crossed paths with either of them, but they had slowly but surely begun to let go...or at least were trying to as hard as they could. But every night, the Water Bender saw him in her nightmares. Looking at her in confusion...in desperation. "Why didn't you save me?" he always asked without speaking a word in those terrible dreams. His voice sounded like Jet's sometimes...

It was too much. The guilt had begun to eat away at her and Katara could no longer stand it. So she had hatched a plan. A foolish, suicidal, dangerous plan. But it was a plan nonetheless, a way to take action against the poision circling through her veins that tightened every time she closed her eyes and saw his face.

_"...Have you spoken to the Avatar about this?" Iroh asked her, his back to the Water Bender as he looked out the Palace windows into the vast city below._

"No." Katara confessed. "I...haven't told Aang about my plan...or anyone else, for that matter..."

"Because you know they would try to stop you." Iroh finished for her, sighing gently. "What makes you think I won't?"

Still he did not face her. "Maybe you will, but you're the only one who can help me." she said.

"You will not find what you seek." he told her solemnly. "I speak from experience."

"Maybe not," Katara answered with equal conviction, "but I still have to try."

With another deep sigh, the elderly Fire Lord turned to her. "If you truly wish to learn, I will teach you." he said, and his face looked as if it had been etched in stone...a portrait of a Father's grief.

And slowly...surely...Katara felt her thoughts settling. Focusing. She had faced the wraith of memory that had driven her to this point and had been reminded of why this was what needed to be done. Why she needed to see Zuko one last time. Why she had to settle the sickness that plagued her dreams and wracked her body. It was a foolish, dangerous, suicidal plan. But Katara needed to do it.

She needed to go to the Spirit World.

_"Hang on, Zuko..."_

**End...?**


End file.
